Colorado Rondys

[Rock Home Isle]

I’ve had a couple setbacks…

1. Cannot get the ramrod into the channel. So note to self, when pinning the entry thimble. Have the ramrod inplace, then drill the pin locations. So darn…

2. The sights Do Not Fit into the dovetails cut into the barrel, I need to recut them.

3. The lock screw, is misaligned. It took me 2 hours of carefully trimming small amounts of wood, before I could barely get them aligned and the lock installed.

4. I still need to finish the lock in the same antique grey finish as the rest of the hardware. Problem is…I know I can get the lock taken apart; not so sure I can reverse that process.

Finish came out nice though…

 

[Birddog1911]

Nevermind, quoted wrong post.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

That RonC is one heck of a good man. I have learned alot from Ron about life in general. I bet you guys got along real well. Watch out though that Ron is part animal he has a pig in his heart

He’s a fun guy. We had lunch together in Ft Lupton, told stories, while we waited for the supplies to arrive. Kind a like you & I the other day…

 

[BigAl52]

Whats the plan for the for the ramrod?

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Whats the plan for the for the ramrod?

The ramrod doesn’t fit into the channel at all, not even a little. It’s the same diameter rod as my .32 calibre bore. So I’ll chuck the rod up into a power drill and use some sand paper to take the diameter down some more…more than I have already. I’ll probably reach out to Ray, and see if I can come over and use his bit…it’s a drill bit with a huge long shank. And I’ll hand drill out the ramrod channel…that should about do it.

I’ll talk to Ray about sight options…the front sight is so small, I think I’d like something with more meat to it.

I’m going to take Mr Kibler’s advice and open up the bolt hole though the breech plug, so that the lock aligns better…then I sight it in.

I’m not about to take the lock apart beyond what you and I did the other day…so I’ll either leave it as is, and let it patina over time…or see if Ray could walk me through it at his place. He’s a busy guy, wonderful person, but he’s busy…just started another rifle build last week.

 

[sportster73hp]

Mine is also a 40. Had the same problem, wood would not fit into stock. Sandpaper and a drill works.

 

[Birddog1911]

Wish I could have stayed longer than I did. Had a great time, met a number of good folks. Peter, the RSO, was generous with his file, as well as advice. I hope to return soon for one of the Saturday shoots.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Wish I could have stayed longer than I did. Had a great time, met a number of good folks. Peter, the RSO, was generous with his file, as well as advice. I hope to return soon for one of the Saturday shoots.

I didn’t see you there, I know exactly where that picture was taken…it would’ve been very nice to meet you.

 

[Birddog1911]

Same here, where were you at? I was wearing the blue t-shirt and the palm straw hat, with brownish pants. Blue tinted sunglasses. I was there from 10 to 1.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Same here, where were you at? I was wearing the blue t-shirt and the palm straw hat, with brownish pants. Blue tinted sunglasses. I was there from 10 to 1.

I was there yesterday…bright yellow shirt, kaki shorts, miss matched socks, looked like a total tourist. The people who don’t know me, kept asking if I needed help, or did I want to know anything about blackpowder and it’s history. I must say, a little bit of me enjoyed the attention, and I’m very good at playing stupid…

Today, I had 2 memorial services to attend, and both the people were very dear to me. So I just didn’t have the heart to head down.

 

[Birddog1911]

Sorry to hear, and I understand.

I was only able to come out today.

 

[Powder to Burn]

Wish I could have stayed longer than I did. Had a great time, met a number of good folks. Peter, the RSO, was generous with his file, as well as advice. I hope to return soon for one of the Saturday shoots.

is that a picture from FT Lupton?

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Tomorrow’s high looks to 81 degrees. I’m headed out to the range for a morning of shooting…I’ll try to be there around 8:00 am, which probably going to be closer to 8:30…not sure what I’ll be shooting. Probably whatever gun I have the most Round Balls. I still haven’t had time to get caught up on running ball.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Today was hot, hot, hot. Last day of the Colorado State Muzzleloading Shoot

 

[RonRC]

This was my first Colorado State Muzzleloading Shoot. In fact, this was the first muzzleloading "competition" I have ever entered. The whole event was a terrific experience. It's not common to get such a fine, helpful, generous group of people together.

I felt very comfortable with the people and the structure and execution of the competition. There never was any pressure to shoot or rush to shoot. Safety measures were rigorous and well and politely but firmly enforced such that you could feel secure bringing your whole family.

I was able to enter the Legacy class which is open to people 75 to 175 years old. I must admit that I felt that I was at an advantage over the shooters who could stand and shoot. Some physical problems forced me to shoot in a sitting position. Also, peep sites are permitted in the Legacy class and that can be considered something of an advantage. Still, the flexible rules meant that I was able to compete. My understanding is that competing in the Legacy class is not easy. There were fine shooters there who were older than me. Some were older than Yoda from Star Wars.

The heat and sun eventually got the best of me and I didn't finish the shoot. Now that I have a feel for how the shoots run, I'll be more efficient and finish the competition.

You can recognize me at shoots and meets from the self-portrait below. Currently, my beard is grayer than in the picture.

 

[Birddog1911]

is that a picture from FT Lupton?

Yes, I was there on Saturday for a short time.

 

[Powder to Burn]

It looked right to me .. i was on work crew that started to build it a long time ago

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Real nice day to shoot blackpowder. One of my students built a .50 calibre percussion pistol, and really wanted to shoot it…so we setup today to hit tge range. @BigAl52 came out with a Lyman GPR Flintlock…it was a grand time at the range.

Gun started the day shooting awesome. Then it started miss-firing, and ended the day unable to go off. Disappointing

My Wife took the dogs and the grandkids on a 3.5 mile hike around the camping area, and along the South Platte River.

Flint is real sharp, so I’m guessing my L&R Lock wasn’t appropriately hardened. I’ll harden it tomorrow…taking the grandkids and my wife out to eat.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

My frizzen on my Early Plains Rifle looks to be functioning properly. Cast up a nice amount of .54’s yesterday. The front sight came loose…so I’ll be back out at the range adjusting sights again.

This is my favorite firearm right now. I’m a huge fan of the .54 calibre as a hunting calibre. Due to the size of the calibre, it just consumes too many resources…so, it’s going to be shot sparingly.

It was a very busy day yesterday. I was able to get the ramrod functioning smoothly, and the sights are installed. Above are my current .40 calibre rifles. Both flintlocks. The bottom rifle is a TVM Natchez PoorBoy, the upper is my Kibler Southern Mountain Rifle.

These will be the firearms that I’ll be shooting, and will have my attention. I love the calibre, I love that these guns use very little lead, and sip powder.

The TVM is essentially sighted in and shooting fine. The Kibler needs to be sighted in and its accuracy potential uncovered.

For these .40’s, I’m looking to develop loads for .390 or .395 RoundBalls, which ever is most accurate for each gun. I want to be shooting undersized RBs, .380 or .375…again whichever is more accurate. And finally, I’m going to see if I can develop a good solidly accurate conical bullet load for each of these guns…opening the door to using them as light big game here in Colorado…

So yeah, lots of Range Time coming…very stoked to have these projects to look forward too.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Busy. Busy weekend. My daughter graduates with a double masters degree on Saturday, celebration party at our house on Sunday.

Beautiful weather scheduled for Monday…looks like a nice day to hit the range and start working on Load Development for my .40 calibre Kibler SMR. Try to hit the range early, nice morning of shooting, be out of there once it gets hot, hot, hot…